Heat exchangers are well-known devices utilized to promote heat transfer between materials, such as fluids. In the case of a vehicular transmission oil coolers, for example, heat may be transferred from a liquid coolant to airflow directed through the cooler's core to dissipate excess heat generated by transmission or other heat source onboard the vehicle.
Transmission coolers can be provided as stand-alone external devices or combined with an existing fluid cooler, e.g., internal combustion (ICE) engine radiator, sometimes referred to as an internal transmission oil cooler (ITOC). Installing the transmission cooler is relatively simple if adequate space is available for mounting the cooler at a location, e.g., front of the engine compartment, where it will be exposed to continuous maximum airflow during vehicle operation to ensure optimal cooling. Other than packaging the cooler where it can provide optimal performance, an efficient installation and mounting strategy includes determining the best way to connect the fluid lines that route the heated fluid through the device for cooling.
Several fluid lines and fittings are available for connecting the transmission to a fluid cooler. However, while current strategies installation and mounting transmission cooler assemblies are sufficient for fulfilling that intended purpose, there is a desire to provide additional strategies to make mounting and installation faster and easier.